COURT OF APPEAL FINALLY RIGHT – “RPS GOT IT WRONG”

COURT OF APPEAL FINALLY RIGHT – “RPS GOT IT WRONG”

The Saskatchewan Coalition Against Racism (SCAR) is pleased that the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has reinstated the conviction of Const. Robert Powers in his use of excessive force on Eddy Stonechild in Regina in 2012.

“Thank god there was a video camera near the crime or the dishonesty would be continuing today,” stated a SCAR spokesperson Bob Hughes. “For this kind of abuse to be perpetrated in broad daylight, one certainly knows what happens in the dark of the night with such officers. We are calling on RPS Chief Troy Hagen to do what is right and terminate Const. Powers, especially for the safety of our inner-city residents. We believe that it is outrageous for the Chief to hide behind so-called legal probabilities in making his decision to keep Powers on duty. What kind of a precedent does this present for the rest of the RPS officers and, especially for new recruits?” asked Hughes.

In such a common sense Appeal, we at SCAR also find it shameful that Justice Caldwell has written a dissenting opinion in this case! That too, says a lot about our so-called “justice” system. We find it ironic that the decision to keep Powers on the force comes so close to the International Day Against Police Brutality. This decision and the Chief’s declaration that his police service is free of racism make our observance of this day to be increasingly important.